Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)
We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East. (From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)
With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)
We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East. (From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)
With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Major British Publisher Promotes "Israel Apartheid Week"
Readers might wish to protest this disturbing anti-Israel initiative by a famous British publisher.
Update: it seems they have been chastened already (well done, Daniel Pipes!)
Further update: And it seems they have disabled the link (above) to the mischievous promotional e-mail, which took the form of an elaborate flyer for IAW and for a number of anti-Israel works published by Pluto Press, I.B.Taurus and Zed Books.
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Pluto Books, etc, have long been noted for their far-leftness and are also noted for their small size and reach. Palgrave Macmillan are a different matter and far more worrying. Macmillan was the publishing house of the Macmillan family, the one that supplied the old-fashioned (noblesse oblige, be kind to the servants) Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
ReplyDeleteI tried to search their database of academic texts but couldn't open it: there is clearly a glitch on their site at present.
I suspect that this is the work of those in the Pluto Books, etc, section of the whole as Palgrave Macmillan have long had a good reputation in the educational text book area. I'd be a trifle, but only a trifle, bothered by this. Just because academics may have to use them to buy their books (and give recommendations to students) doesn't mean they're all suddenly going to become BDS advocates.
After all, all publishers (those which are genuine commercial enterprises) publish books which we don't like. We just have to live with that.
I'm not quite as phlegmatic as you are on this issue, Brian. I find it extraordinary that so reputable a publisher as Palgrave Macmillan would get involved in this promotion of IAW. I do, of ourse, take your point about Pluto Books and Zed Books.
DeleteIt is the link with the extremist polemical campaign and the nature of that campaign that worries me. This is much much more than a publisher publishing books we don't like. This is a publisher linking its name to a dangerous and essentially antisemitic program at a dangerous time and we would have to be fools to discount the gravity of the threat (which ultimately is sourced in a rancid academia).
DeleteI believe we should make a serious effort to avoid titles published by Palgrave Macmillan. Authors should also consider who should have carriage of their works at a dangerous time. Obviously a complete boycott is not possible but even an effort should have an impact on dampening this thing. Very often there are many alternative in all disciplines.
Palgrave Macmillan and it's ugly offspring of which it is "proud" may just sit up and take notice and take note on why it is so ugly and offensive to launch a one-sided blitz by some of the nastiest bigots in the Israel hating business and why so many people are bloody well sick of this nonsense.
They claim it is contributing "to the debate". That is lie. They haven't made the slightest effort to provide balance. This is not about building debate. This is about killing thought and debate.
As you say, this is a commercial decision for them. That is why they allowed this vile campaign to proceed in the first place. OK. Let's provide a little balance of our own to their commercial decision making.
Its time to fight back. This is a naked marketing strategy aimed at the young, dumb and ignorant at the start of the academic year on campuses. They are not the only book buying demographic.
ReplyDeleteThis is beyond the pale. Do not buy books published by Palgrave Macmillan. There are plenty of worthy alternatives.
http://geofffff.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/do-not-buy-books-published-by-palgrave.html
Daniel Pipes got them to back down
ReplyDeletehttp://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2013/03/palgrave-macmillan-participates-in-israel
I've just discovered his blog - was about to link to it!
DeleteSend in the clowns:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/03/passion-and-book-sales-israeli-apartheid-week-meets-palgrave/273971/
Geoffff's Joint Campaign Update
ReplyDeletehttp://geofffff.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/palgrave-macmillan-backs-down.html
One of those few instances where throwing flaming books through their windows is called for.
ReplyDeleteWell, you guys definitely got their attention.
ReplyDeleteI did not even read Geoffff's piece at my joint until this morning when I noticed a personal email from Amy Bourke at Palgrave Macmillan apologizing for the "error."
These people need to learn that they cannot play so fast and loose with the lives and well-being of Jewish people.
The apartheid smear is nothing less than an invitation to violence toward the Jews of the Middle East and we must stand up and denounce it whenever it raises its hideous face.
Good for you guys and good for Daniel Pipes.
I don't think they'll be promoting IAW next year, somehow!
ReplyDeletebtw, Macmillan's website has a video of anti-Israel campaigner Ben White promoting his new (Pluto Press) book - it's not often an author gets to propagandise against Israel on video courtesy of a mainstream publisher:
ReplyDeletehttp://us.macmillan.com/PALESTINIANSINISRAEL/BenWhite
(scroll down that page)
And yet they throw out an 'this was sent out in error, our email was hacked we were misconstrued blah blah' excuse and the liberal Jews are falling over themselves to let bygones be bygones.
ReplyDelete